Quora, 9 Mar. "I started my first company with $2,500, and I had one computer and a car that I bought for $1,400, and all that debt. He will plan evil, Elon tearfully told Rolling Stone in 2017. ---. Below, we have laid out all of the data that we found, including examples of the rumor, as well as stories from newspaper archives and blogs. ", Though he claimed Elon and Kimbal were upset with him for fathering a child with a woman they felt was "their sister," Errol told The Sun, "The only thing we are on Earth for is to reproduce. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. [20] Musk has a total of seven children. Elon and other family members have opened up about years of living in debt after they left South Africa. He can't have what he wants and now I am apparently an evil monster.". Errol has long since retired from the engineering business and now lives a quiet life in the Western Cape in South Africa. In the biography Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX and the Quest for a Fantastic Future, author Ashlee Vance wrote that Errol invested $28,000 in Elon and Kimbal's then-fledgling company, Zip2. ", Elon has said one of the reasons he is so skilled at engineering is because of his father. I couldnt even afford a 2nd PC at Zip2, so programmed at night & website only worked during day. Elon would later get his own pilot's license but no longer has time to fly. He told me over and over that I was stupid, ugly, boring. For what it's worth, my reporting, based on conversations with hundreds of people, confirms Musk's story. Their half-sister.. "We went to . In an email to Rolling Stone, Musk's father said he smacked the Tesla CEO only once and on the bottom. He also said that the only criminal charges that had been filed against him from when he killed three home invaders in self-defense had been cleared. To me, he sure is trying to make the world better right now, and that's the best thing he could do with his father's money. Jump to Main content Search Account Menu icon A vertical stack of three evenly spaced horizontal. " he told the outlet. Arnold paraphrased his answers, publishing that he said "it was a handshake deal with a Panamanian man that resulted in something like 110 emeralds up front and then a semi-regular trickle of rough stones over a few years following," and that "there was never formal ownership.". Musk responded about the time when the photo was clicked. ", He grew up in South Africa and had the good fortune of doing so in an upper-middle-class home. Inside the fabulous Dior couture world of 'Mrs. Imgur, 5 Dec. 2019, https://imgur.com/SHGhIY2. Former Tesla employees have reported racist behavior and attempted to sue over it. Errol was a successful consulting engineer, and also owned an emerald mine in Zambia. Clash's same 2014 interview was also republished by AskMen.com on Jan. 2, 2015. In 2017, family members were left stunned when Jana became pregnant with Errols baby. His father, Errol Musk, had a casual attitude towards the family's considerable wealth, including the stones that came from the Zambian emerald mine in which Errol owned a half share. Musk, Elon. ", Musk tackled it on Twitter as the story circulated, but his denials do not explicitly contradict his father's tale of the bizarre airplane-emerald mine trade. He is the father of Elon Musk, the CEO of 'SpaceX,' 'Tesla, Inc.,' and 'Neuralink' and one of the co-founders of 'PayPal.' Errol is mostly known for his scandalous life and his estranged relationship with his children. At the conference, Elon talked to some professors who told Errol, This boy needs to get his hands on one of these computers. Jeff Bezos' garage-based start was funded by a quarter . Not for 'At Least' a Few Weeks, Says Elon Musk, Elon Musk's Ex Justine Calls Twitter Employees' Letter Protesting Reported Staff Cuts a 'Very Bad Idea', Elon Musk Says He's Buying Twitter to 'Help Humanity' And Doesn't Want It to Be 'Free-for-All Hellscape', Elon Musk Says Kanye West's Twitter Was Reinstated Before He Took Over the Company, Elon Musk Plans to Cut 75 Percent of Twitter's Workforce If He Takes Over the Company: Report. Nothing, nothing. In 1970, Errol married modelMaye Haldeman Musk before the pair welcomed three children: Elon, Kimbal and Tosca. "The Man Who's Revolutionizing The Future Of Driving -- And The Universe." Errol Musk says teenage Elon Musk once casually walked around with emeralds in his pocket. ", She added, "He was very rich, but he made sure I had nothing. Errol and a co-pilot were flying a plane from. My dad will have a carefully thought-out plan of evil. I felt sorry for my father, because my mother had all three kids. For example, on Dec. 28, 2019, hetweetedthat his father "didn't own an emerald mine" and that he (Elon) had worked his way through college, ending up with around $100,000 in student debt. mark_able_jones_. The headline of the story read, "Elon Musk Tells Me His Secret Of Success (Hint: It Ain't About The Money).". He also sent a link to another interview he did with Elon in 2016. He told The New York Times that as a member of the Progressive Party, he opposed apartheid. The 51-year-old has refuted claims that he grew up rich amid statements that his father Errol owned an emerald mine in . Offers may be subject to change without notice. The child, a boy named Elliot Rush, is now 5 years old. In an interview with The Sun, Errol recalled the attack, claiming that he was confronted by a group of seven men inside his home and shot back at the intruders after they opened fire. "And then there'd still be all these notes sticking out and we'd sort of pull them out and put them in our pockets.". However, $800 was probably pocket change for the family, judging by what Musk's father told the site. Errol was born in South Africa to a British mother and a South African father. Errol was elected to the Pretoria City Council in 1972 and was an outspoken advocate for abolishing apartheid. In the interview, Musk's father explained that he bought his share of the emerald mine after selling a plane to a group of Italians. The emerald mine story, reported in 2018 in Business Insider, tells how, in the mid-1980s, Errol acquired a half-share in a Zambian emerald mine, which would help to fund his familys lavish lifestyle of yachts, skiing holidays, and expensive computers.. My own (wonderful) mother told me I am ruthless and should learn to be more humane. But I love my children and would readily do whatever for them.. Clearly, Elon Musk doesn't like being mocked. Elon Musk was highlighted as the wealthiest resident of Texas, Americas second-biggest state. Errol Musk, an engineer, owned a small percentage of an emerald mine and had a couple of good years before the mine went bust and wiped out his investment. "I Talked to Elon Musk about Journalism and the Blood Emeralds Story." Elon Musk addressed the recent social storm when claims related his family's emerald mines in apartheid-South Africa resurfaced online. Like his son, the wealthy business owner who was once rumored to be the co-owner of a Zambian emerald mine has also been mired in controversy. There was a shooting in the living room, and I guess his father shot them dead. On July 3, 2020, Elon tweeted about the subject again, responding to a since-deleted tweet with, "I don't have an 'emerald mine,' nor was I given free money from anyone, inheritance or otherwise. Whats very difficult for others is easy for me. Errol. "I said, 'Oh, all right'. D'Innocenzio, Anne. Move over, Elon theres another Musk hitting the headlines. Errol Musk is a South African electromechanical engineer, pilot, and sailor. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Thanks for contacting us. For a while, I thought things were so obvious that everyone must know this.". It was authored by Jeremy Arnold with The Save Journalism Committee. "Elon Musk Hits out at US Professor over Emerald Mine Claims: 'Idiot and Liar.'" Errol Musk, the father of Elon Musk, told British tabloid The Sun Wednesday that he had a second and previously-unknown child with his stepdaughter, Jana Bezuidenhout, in 2019 leaving many. We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred. They still dont like it. In 2017, Errol told Rolling Stone that while he has never intentionally hurt or threatened anyone, he once shot and killed a group of burglars at his home in Johannesburg, though he says he was cleared of all charges because he acted in self-defense. And I was too scared to tell anyone [about his violence]," Maye told Harper's Bazaar in 2019. I couldnt even afford a 2nd PC at Zip2, so programmed at night & website only worked during day. All About Errol Musk", "50 years of Elon Musk's huge wealth, from emeralds to SpaceX and Tesla", "How Elon Musk made his money - from emeralds to SpaceX and Tesla", "Elon Musk Left a South Africa That Was Rife With Misinformation and White Privilege", "At 68, Maye Musk, the Mother of Elon, Is Reclaiming the Spotlight", "El padre de Elon Musk dice que la ambicin de su hijo se debe a la educacin austera que recibi: "Fui un padre estricto", "BBC Two - The Elon Musk Show, Series 1, Episode 2", "Elon Musk's dad reveals he fathered an "unplanned" child with his stepdaughter", "Elon Musk's father has baby with step-daughter he has known since she was four", "Elon Musk's father confirms second child with his own stepdaughter - report", "Errol Musk explains why he got his stepdaughter pregnant", "Ayah Elon Musk Punya Bayi dari Hubungan dengan Putri Tirinya", "Meet Elon Musk's controversial father, Errol", "Errol Musk hat Kind mit Stieftochter: "Wir sind zum Fortpflanzen auf der Welt", "Elon Musk's Dad Says Company Wants His Sperm to Impregnate 'High-Class' Women", Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future, Ludicrous: The Unvarnished Story of Tesla Motors, Power Play: Tesla, Elon Musk, and the Bet of the Century, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Errol_Musk&oldid=1142497006, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 2 March 2023, at 18:50. Errol talked about Elons fascination with computers when they first came out in the mid-80s, during an interview on radio station 702 in Johannesburg, as reported by Forbes. Get down!'. Errol employed a cutter in Johannesburg and sold the stones wherever his travels as an engineer or family holidays took him. The Tesla CEO once called his South African dad 'evil' and denied rumours of family wealth fuelled by an emerald mine - but are they ready to reconcile? Forbes, 28 July 2014, https://www.forbes.com/sites/jimclash/2014/07/28/elon-musk-tells-me-his-secret-of-success-hint-it-aint-about-the-money/. Headded, also on Dec. 28, "We started Zip2 with ~$2k from me plus my overclocked home-built PC, ~$5k from my bro & ~$8k from Greg Kouri (such a good guy he is greatly missed). The emerald mine was not mentioned in that interview. "Like every abused woman, I was embarrassed, and I knew I had made a mistake, you know? ---. The story included reporting of Elon's denials that the emerald mine had provided any seed money for the wealth he would later accumulate. Im not sure if replying to a satire site and amplifying their articles reach is necessarily the best idea, but Musk felt that this was a hill worth dying on. In a 2019 . [14], Musk was married to Heide Bezuidenhout for eighteen years and helped her raise her young daughter Jana Bezuidenhout, a child from a previous relationship. "In my experience, there is nothing you can do," he added. Errol also shared how his sons got involved in the family business and recalled a time when Elon and his brother Kimbal sold a few of the emeralds from his mine to Tiffany & Co. in New York City. Kaizer Chiefs to sign more Swallows players. "A Teenage Elon Musk Once Casually Sold His Father's Emeralds to Tiffany & Co. This material may not be reproduced without permission. We had so much money at times we couldnt even close our safe, he explained, adding that they would need one person to hold the money in place and another to close the safe door. It is still hard to discern whether this story is true and what conclusions can be drawn. On Feb. 23, 2018, Business Insider SA published a story with the headline, "'We had so much money we couldn't even close our safe': Elon Musk's Dad tells BI about the family's insanely casual attitude to wealth." "We were lonely, lost people," Errol said. TheSouthAfrican.com is all about South Africa and the stories that affect South Africans, wherever they are in the world. He was only physically violent when I was very young., He also said, You have no idea about how bad. Maye and Errol divorced in 1980 when Elon was about 9 years old. That conversation is more valuable but less newsworthy than just resurfacing the same lazy claims every few months, which are guaranteed to get clicks. The netizen claimed that the Business Insider article didnt show the real extent of the Musk family profiting from apartheid. [11][5] Maye has stated that Errol beat her. In 2018, Errol Musk interviewed Business Insider South Africa, where he told a story about bartering his way into partial ownership of an emerald mine in Zambia. Heres his story. Errol made money by consulting and developing properties, Forbes reported. Or they'd take the plane to Lake Tanganyika [in Zambia], where Errol had a stake in an emerald mine. This article forms part of the archives of Business Insider South Africa, which was published as a partnership between News24 and Insider Inc between 2018 and 2023. The Buffalo News via San Jose Mercury News via Newspapers.com, 20 Apr. In an interview with Rolling Stone, during which he reportedly cried, Elon called his father "a terrible human being" and "evil. Errol and Heide had two children of their own, but he also helped raise Jana. "Errol also quoted a lower number to me over the phone," Arnold wrote. "Is It True That Elon Musk's Family Got Their Wealth from Apartheid Emerald Mining?" In Errol's case, we sent a message to his Facebook profile. She won't speak to me or engage me if we're in the same room which we have been often.". So we got one, thank God at a discount, and with that computer he taught himself, using Disk Operating System, which is DOS, to program, Errol said. It spoke of the divorce of Elon's parents, Errol and Maye Musk, and also contained a quick mention of an emerald mine. Its obvious why Musk would want to distance himself from apartheid in every possible way. To add to the truth, we went to Boston Chicken in Philadelphia for Thanksgiving because we couldnt afford a turkey. The user tweeted: If this is half of an article is a small glimpse into the apartheid mines his [family-owned] haha even [T]he Onion tells more truthful stories than CNN and Fox. Business Insider South Africa, 23 Feb. 2018, https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musks-dad-tells-bi-about-the-familys-casual-attitude-to-wealth-2018-2. A common story about Musk on social media is that his father owned part of an emerald mine, providing a bedrock of wealth that buoyed Elon up to his current level of success. This story was picked up by other news outlets and peddled as a sign of the Musk family's "lavish lifestyle. [9], Errol Musk's claims that he invested in Elon Musk's software company Zip2 have been rejected by Elon Musk. Elon Musk came from a family that owned an emerald mine in Apartheid South Africa. AskMen, 2 Jan. 2015, https://www.askmen.com/entertainment/right-stuff/elon-musk-interview.html. On their way to England, Errol and his copilot got word that their original flight plan was going to cost a lot of money. Britannica.com, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Zip2. Here is the incredible true story of Errol Musk and the striking similarities he shares with his powerful son. Elon Musk isn't innovative. [18][19] Musk described the first child as unplanned. Once the Musk emerald story started circulating, and information about Musk's father Errol's past business dealings got out, a cavalcade of internet poo-pooers flocked to Twitter to lambast Musk .